The first frost is expected in the next few days. With that event, more leaves will fall and the tender perennials with shrivel. But some of the plants I tend come into their own as others fade with the season.
This year’s Japanese beautyberry is the most spectacular of the group as its long, pendulous branches are covered with clusters of vibrantly colored purple fruits. They are thick and plump weighing down the bush. But my eyes enjoy these excesses as I imagine will the stomachs of the birds that will feed on them in the months to come.
Not as colorful, or plentiful, are the Winterthur viburnums whose clusters of berries look more like shriveled grapes left out in the sun for too long a time. These are among the last fruits to be sampled by birds in late Winter or early Spring. In some years they must be trimmed off as new growth looks to evict them from the bush.
Winterberries never have this problem as a flock of robins can clear my bushes in a heartbeat. Often the berries don’t last past the first snow as hungry predators descend on them leaving only bits of bright red fruit littered on the surrounding white snow.
The crabapple reminds me of an anorexic Christmas tree with its red pomes dangling in an enticing fashion. Few of its fruits were sampled this Winter by either birds or hungry squirrels. They still hang in the air, waiting to be sampled or dropped.
And gray, tightly packed bayberries cling to the female of the species, surrounding each branch waiting to be used by hobbyists or munched on by a passing creature. The male has no such decorations and will be used just as a resting and launching pad for birds seeking their next snack.
